Was just about to post the same, but didn't bother for risk of repetition. Over the last weekend or so, West Ham, Bournemouth, Middlesbrough, Villa amongst others have conceded avoidable goals.
I’m a fan myself. Love to see teams trying to play football. Just one minor caveat. It helps immensely if you have the players who can do it. We can’t. We’re bottom of the League. So, stop pi$$ing around at the back.
I'm with Dalestyke on this. I really enjoy watching teams play football from the back especially when it Is done well but you need players who can do it. We don't have the players to play like this consistently.
Doing it all the time is too predictable & is easily closed down, leading to errors. Very good players, like those at Man City, Liverpool, Barca, etc don't make many errors. That is not the case with most teams. Vary the play & use the ball out from the back as one option.
It's the latest fad in football, the style of choice. Play like Barca, like Bayern, like City. It's followed the 'false 9', the 'makelele role', the 'Henry position'. Its great to see teams trying to play football rather than hoof the ball to some 6ft 3 target man, but it only works if you have the players to fit the style. Most teams do not and whilst attempts to play good football should be encouraged, suicidal defending in the pursuit of tika taka only works for the talented few.
The increase in mistakes this season is due to the rule change whereby goalkicks don't have to leave the penalty area for the ball to become live . And breathe .
I think it’s more than just a fad for us though. We all know our defence is not the best, so trying to keep possession is a priority ( the opposition can’t score without the ball) Hoofing the ball away is all well and good in the short term as it clears your lines, but it also regularly concedes possession because we haven’t got the players up top who can win the ball and hold it up. This leads to wave after wave of attacks, and further pressure on our already stressed defence. The question is, do we clear our lines and give the ball away, or at least try to keep possession, even though we know there’s the chance of monumental cockups?
The one thing to be said for going long is that it makes the opposition start as far away from our goal as possible.
I remember decades of people moaning about hoofball football and asking why English teams don't pass it out from the back, why we lump it up field and avoid midfield etc....
Im a fan of playing out from the back, suits our game better then a big hoof up front. Think it’s more about the decision making of the players of when it’s on and when it’s not. That will come with experience, hopefully it’ll not have cost us our place in the league gaining this experience.
It’s infinitely more watchable than the previous trend of all 20 outfield players occupying the same 10 square yards of pitch for every goal kick.
I think the new rule with kick offs has made it a fantastic watch. It’s a lot more entertaining & nerve wracking knowing your teams one dodgy pass away from scoring / conceding a goal rather than it been launched long into midfield every time. The best teams at playing out from the back do it season after season, the obvious issue with that is that many managers resort to hoof ball as there jobs at risk after a few dodgy results. Man City were able to perfect it because Pep knew he’d got a secure job & even though they messed up plenty of times in his first season it got the side used to the style of play & by his second season they were superb at it. Roberto Martinez’s sides were excellent at it, he implemented it at Swansea which they continued for over a decade under different managers & he also did it at Wigan & Everton. Jaap Stam had a lot of success initially with it at Reading as well but for some reason it all went wrong in his second season. You’ve got to have the players to do it as well. For example if you’re the England manager & your centre backs are Stones, Gomez & Maguire you can implement it, if you’ve got Keane, Cahill & Smalling it’s not as easy.
Like most things its finding the balance. If you try to play out and get penned in, then go long. You can't always play out of trouble. It's all about decision making.
I would rather see their back four dealing with the ball and pressure rather than our own. Even when we have had decent defenders I still wanted to see the game in their haif.